The Downtown Singers are very pleased to introduce our soloists for our Spring Glory and Light concert on June 7th. Enjoy these bios as an introduction.

Heather Holmquest - Soprano
Joelle Lachance - Mezzo-Soprano
Noah Unser - Tenor

Dr. Heather Holmquest is based in Rochester, NY and is an active soprano soloist in the Western NY region known for her dynamic range and colorful vocal timbre. Primarily a concert artist, her recent solo appearances include Brahms' Requiem with SUNY Geneseo Choirs and Orchestra; Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël and Exsultate, Jubilate with Avanti Music in Buffalo; Poulenc’s Gloria and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Eastman Summer Community Sings; Handel’s Messiah and Michael Haydn’s Requiem with First Presbyterian Church in Pittsford; Bach’s St. John Passion and Mass in Bm with Voices; and Vivaldi’s Gloria, Fauré’s Requiem, and Bach’s BWV 140 “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” with Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester.

Joelle Lachance has been heralded as a “thrilling, powerful voice with a melting pianissimo” (Boston Musical Intelligencer),“nuanced combination of pitch control and power” (rochestercitynewspaper.com), and “a hoot!” (thebargainhunter.com), Joelle has performed a variety of roles including Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Buffalo Opera Unlimited), Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites (Eastman Opera Theater), der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos (Eastman Opera Theater), Mrs. Nolan in The Medium (Buffalo Opera Unlimited), the Page in Rigoletto (Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra).

Noah Unser is a tenor from Albany, NY and is pursuing his Masters in Opera Performance at Binghamton University. He just recently received his BA in Music Education from SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music where he studied with Lorraine Sullivan and Katie Burnham. During his time in Potsdam Noah performed frequently with the Crane Opera Ensemble. Some highlights include the 2023 opera scenes program singing “Vesti la giubba” from Pagliacci and “O soave fanciulla” from La Boheme, and performing roles such as The Moon/ King of the East in Jonathan Dove’s Enchanted Pig and Courtois in Leoncavallo’s ZaZà. His most recent performances include the Tenor Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Octavo Singers, the Tenor Soloist in Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast as a guest artist with the Crane School of Music, and Alfred in Binghamton University’s production of Die Fledermaus.
 

A lot of thought, research, and listening goes into choosing pieces for our spring concert every year. I actually chose this year's pieces based on feedback I received from the choir while I was the interim artistic director last year. The members specifically asked for “no more death,” which made me laugh. They were right of course, there have been a lot of our performances – and there are a lot of choral works – that surround the theme of death. So I set to work last summer choosing pieces that carried a lighter emotional weight. 

One of my goals when I became the artistic director of the choir was to always include works by underrepresented composers, so that is where I started in my search. I came across Illuminare by Elaine Hagenberg, and knew it would be an immediate success. It did take me longer to come up with companion pieces though. Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi was first performed by an all girls choir from the orphanage where Vivaldi was employed, which feels adjacent to being written by an underrepresented composer. He later rewrote it for a mixed choir, but this tied together nicely with the Hagenberg. Two works would make for too short of a concert though, so I added in Gustav Holst’s Two Psalms which deal with the everlasting kindness and mercy of God and close with the praise of God’s son who lights up the earth with radiance. 

Our selections this concert cycle easily lent themselves to the theme of Glory and Light which we are excited to perform for you. I love that the choir members were open enough to share with me that they did not want to perform anymore works surrounding a theme of death, but wanted to bring pieces to the community that will let the light of late spring and early summer shine within them. 

Warmly,
Robbie

Choral singing is an experience that brings joy, laughter and friendship to our choir members.  For many, this experience is also shared with a family member.  About one fourth of the Binghamton Downtown singers are either currently singing with a family member, or have sung with one in the past. They are spouses (even some who met through the choir and married), parents and children, brothers and sisters, even aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces are included.

Three siblings from the Purdy family, Talitha, Diedre, and Caleb recently shared their thoughts on singing together: With a pretty big age gap between them, it's really nice to have something they can do together despite all the ways they're different. And additionally, carpooling and selling tickets is easier when you come from a large family!

Mother and son, Patti and Phillip Wolfe recount how they got started with the choir. Phillip  was heavily involved in music in high school at Owego Free Academy, which his mother Patti enjoyed tremendously because she didn’t have a choir in her tiny high school. After Phil and his brothers graduated, Patti missed the concerts deeply and decided the best way to remedy that was to learn to sing choral music herself. Phil and Patti joined the Downtown Singers for the 2021 Messiah concert (masks and all!). This concert let Phil reconnect with his love of singing years after leaving school, and now it’s a blessing for both of them to connect with each other every week.

As you enjoy our Glory and Light concert on Saturday June 7th, please take a look at our choir and see if you can spot any family resemblances!